In February, Canada’s economy almost regained all of the jobs it lost in the two months prior, and the unemployment rate was the lowest it has been since March 2020.
The number of people employed in February increased by 259,000 after falling by 266,000 over December and January. Statistics Canada derived these data from conducting their monthly Labour Force Survey during the week of February 14 to 20.
Employment rates are the number of people who are working as a percentage of the population of people aged 15 and older. Unemployment is calculated by the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the entire labour force.
In February, the unemployment rate fell to 8.2 per cent, 1.2 percentage points lower than January and the lowest since Canada went into lockdown last year.
Compared with February 2020, there were 599,000 (-3.1 per cent) fewer people employed, and 406,000 (+50 per cent) more people working less than half of their usual hours. The total hours worked increased by 1.4 per cent, driven by gains in wholesale and retail trade.
Employment rebounds in industries most affected by coronavirus-related closures
The number of people working in retail trade as well as accommodation and food services increased in February as coronavirus-related measures were lifted.
Employment in the information, culture, and recreation industry was little changed in February, after several months of steady decline.
February employment increases were concentrated in low-paying jobs of $17.50 per hour or less, which reflects the growth in industries with a high proportion of low-paying jobs.
Employment gains in professional, scientific, and technical services exceed pre-pandemic levels
The number of people working in professional, scientific, and technical services was little changed month over month, but employment in the industry rose 5.6 per cent compared to the same time last year, which is equal to about 86,000 more people working. This is the largest year-over-year increase across all industries. Nearly all of these gains were seen in Ontario and British Columbia. Many businesses in this industry can operate remotely, which allows them to stay open during periods of lockdown.
For this industry, the job vacancy rate was higher than the Canadian average in December, after seeing months of employment growth in the latter part of 2020.
There are about 75,000 more people working in computer and information systems occupations compared to February 2020, including both professional and technical occupations. These year-over-year gains were driven mostly by men and were little changed among women.
Employment rates for very recent immigrants little changed
Coronavirus-related travel restrictions caused the number of newcomers in 2020 to fall to the lowest level since 1998. In February, there were 13.8 per cent fewer very recent immigrants in the labour market compared year-over-year. This group is comprised of permanent residents who landed in Canada within the past five years.
Employment for these newcomers was also down 12.1 per cent compared to the same time frame. As a result, the employment rate for very recent immigrants for the three-month period ending in February was little changed compared to the same time last year.
For immigrants who landed more than five years ago, employment in February was one per cent shy of pre-pandemic levels. Their employment rate was slightly lower than Canadian-born workers, with immigrant employment rates at 57.3 per cent, and Canadian-born workers at 58.3 per cent.
The importance of population growth and employment rate
Canada’s level of employment and employment rate will be important indicators of labour market conditions. Statistics Canada says that in order for Canada to return to pre-pandemic employment rates, the level of employment must increase beyond February 2020 to match population growth that has occurred since then.
Canada’s employment rate in February 2020 was 61.8 per cent. By April, it fell to 51.5 per cent, the lowest level since comparable data became available in 1976. This past February, the employment rate was 59.4 per cent, which is 2.4 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.
If the population had remained the same year-over-year, the employment rate in February would have been 5.9 percentage points below the pre-pandemic rate. This difference shows the importance of population growth in economic recovery. There has been a small population increase in Canada, although reduced levels of immigrants have slowed growth. In an average year, immigration is responsible for roughly 80 per cent of Canada’s population growth.
The Canadian government committed to welcoming 401,000 new immigrants in 2021. In January alone, immigration rates were comparable to pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that Canada is on track to meet its ambitious immigration levels target.
Shelby has worked as a freelance writer, photojournalist and staff video journalist before she came to CIC News in 2019.
She has lived in Manitoba, Alberta, B.C., and now Quebec. Her exposure to life in multiple communities across Canada helps her connect readers with the places where they may end up living someday.
Helping people navigate the complex Canadian immigration system is what drives her to create new, engaging, and comprehensive content for CIC News readers.
Talking to people with interesting stories and insights is the best part of her day. Send story ideas to shelby.thevenot@canadavisa.com.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
